Primary
FCS(SA) Primary: Post-internship qualification registered with the HPCSA or any other medical council.
Primary of the Fellowship of the College of Surgeons of South Africa - R 12 950
Primary: FCS(SA) Primary 2 online MCQ papers, no oral examination.
Intermediate
Intermediate: Requirements to register for the intermediate examination:
- Passed FCS (SA) primary examination
- 18 months of approved surgical training of which 12 months is in Orthopaedic Surgery, 3 months in an Intensive Care Unit* and 3 months in “General Surgery”.
- Rotation within a dedicated Trauma Unit is recognized as a “General Surgery Rotation” as long as the full three months was spent within the unit and the unit has appropriate emergency or trauma surgery specialists with a full academic programme and regular ward rounds.
- Rotating in a Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Unit is recognized as a “General Surgery Rotation” as long as the full three months was spent within the unit and the unit has appropriate Plastic and Reconstructive surgery specialists with a full academic programme and regular ward rounds
- ATLS certified. Due to the backlog in the availability of ATLS Courses during the Covid pandemic (2020/2021/2022) a waiver for this will currently be allowed. The candidate will however have to show that the ATLS course was successfully completed before being able to register for the FC Orth (SA) final examination
Intermediate of the Fellowship of the College of Orthopaedic Surgeons of South Africa - R 17 350
Intermediate:
2 digital written papers in the format of Single Best Answers (SBAs), no oral examination.
Final
Final: Requirements to register for the final (PART 2) examination:
- Passed the CMSA primary and intermediate examination or has a Fellowship of one of the Colleges with which there is an agreement of reciprocity.
- Minimum of 48 months of recognised orthopaedic surgical training in a HPCSA accredited registrar training post on a university affiliated rotation signed off by his/her HOD. This excludes community service time.
- Candidates may register to write the final up to three years following leaving their registrar rotation and thus their HPCSA registrar training number. (refer to regulations)
- Provide the consolidated portfolio of surgical cases on registration for the written examination and updated prior to the orals. This data may be analysed and published for educational purposes (patient identification delinked).
- The logbooks should be available in electronic format on request.
- Completed all Work Based Assessment modules effective 1 January 2023, pro rata dependent on years after initiation (see 2022 CMSA FC Orth(SA) Regulations)
Please Note: Part of the entry requirements for FC Orth(SA) Final will be 48 months training in a CMSA / HPCSA accredited hospital, however, consideration will be given to registrars who have completed 36 months training.
The ruling of 48 months training will gradually be incorporated and enforced in 2024.
Fellowship of the College of Orthopaedic Surgeons of South Africa - R 24 650
Final:
- 3 digital written papers;
- Clinical and/or oral and/or OSCE.
The J M EDELSTEIN MEDAL was endowed by the late Prof Edelstein, Associate Founder of the CMSA, in 1966 and is awarded to candidates who show a very high standard of proficiency in the Fellowship examination of the College of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
Kindly note that the Portfolio of Learning (PoL) or Logbook is required to be submitted no later than six weeks prior to the commencement of the upcoming semester application period
- All Portfolios / Logbooks be sent in 6 weeks prior to the application system opening for review and approval
- 15 August for First Semester applications (application system opens from 1 October – 15 November each year)
- 15 February for Second Semester applications (application system opens from 1 April – 15 May each year)
- Portfolios / Logbooks must be sent to the following email accounts;
Part II / Final - [email protected]
Subspeciality Certificate - [email protected]
- Approval of portfolio must be received before applications open or before a candidate can submit their application.
If a portfolio is approved, an approval letter will be sent to the candidate advising that portfolio has been approved and that they are required to complete and submit their application within the application window.
Release of FC Orth(SA) Final results
Please note that the results for the FC Orth(SA) Final examination will be released on the published date as per candidates’ letter of acceptance into the examination. If they are available earlier, the C Orth Surg will endeavour to inform candidates earlier of the provisional results.
Scheduled Dates & Locations
Apply for examination
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Examination regulations
View the examination regulations for admission to an examination.
APPEALS
PLEASE NOTE that candidates that wish to lodge an appeal against the outcome of his/her written examination results must do so in accordance with the provisions of the CMSA’s Appeals Mechanism Policy. Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) are not made available to candidates for review in accordance with the CMSA’s Appeals Mechanism Policy.
